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Hockey dad charged with threatening 10-year-old

A Burnaby Winter Club hockey dad appeared in North Vancouver court on Wednesday to face a charge of uttering death threats to another 10 year-old player on his son's team.

Cpl. Richard De Jong, of the North Vancouver RCMP, said the incident took place on Feb. 21 at Karen Magnuson Arena. The Winter Club's Atom 3 team had just lost a playoff game to the North Vancouver Atom 1 team, 5-3.

Cpl. De Jong said Terry Litt was alleged to have had a "threatening conversation" towards the young player in the team's dressing room.

An arrest warrant was issued and Litt turned himself into North Van RCMP Wednesday morning.

BWC manager Len McNeely confirmed Litt was immediately suspended from the club after the incident, but he subsequently quit anyway.

Domenic Palmieri, whose son played on the Atom 3 team, said the atmosphere around the squad had been difficult all season. After the incident Palmieri said a number of parents signed a petition to remove assistant coach Mark Rademaker, who's also the president of BWC's minor hockey association.

"It was an ongoing thing with the team," said Palmieri, who has since left BWC. "We thought he should have done something."

McNeely confirmed there was a petition about Rademaker but said it was unrelated to the incident in the dressing room.

Palmieri, who was a member of BWC for three years, said other parents have also quit the club.

"I didn't like the way things were at the club," said Palmieri. "Everyone has their own reason why they left."

Litt's next court appearance is scheduled for April 23.

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